Vietnam Update 2007: Call for Papers
Philip Taylor <philip.taylor@anu.edu.au>
date Apr 17, 2007 1:04 AM
subject [Vsg] Vietnam Update 2007: Call for Papers
Vietnam Update 2007 Call for Papers
Education in Vietnam Today: Changes and Challenges
The Australian National University, Canberra, 29-30 November 2007
Vietnamese have occasion to ponder what kind of education is good for
them, their children, their community, the country at large. Today they
face unprecedented educational choices, but also substantial risks and
costs. Education is a lively topic of conversation among teenagers,
family members, neighbors, friends and workmates. The Vietnamese mass
media discusses education extensively, and sometimes quite critically.
Political leaders, aware that all is not well with Vietnamese education,
introduce a range of ambitious reforms, some of which have been tried and
failed previously. Foreign aid organizations, potential investors and
current company executives have a stake in Vietnam’s education discourse
as well. Education has become a major test of the policy making process
in Vietnam
The organizers of this year’s Vietnam Update seek papers on education
which combine first-hand research with critical analysis and the ability
to place the specific topic in wider social context. All educational
levels are of interest: pre-school, primary, secondary, tertiary, and
adult complementary courses. We particularly hope for papers that
elucidate educational circumstances among rural Vietnamese, ethnic
minorities, the urban poor, and undergraduates currently studying
overseas. Education as seen by teachers, principals, ministry officials
and policy advocates is also a promising avenue of investigation.
Some of the questions we would like to see addressed are as follows:
1. What is education in the minds of various people? Have the answers to
this question remained stable over many decades, or do dramatic changes in
Vietnam’s economy produce new ways of conceptualizing education?
2. To what extent has the public education system seen explicit changes in
pedagogical philosophy, curriculum and textbook design, exam procedures,
teacher training, salary scales or performance standards? Where movement
is slow, what practical measures are being taken to identify and overcome
impediments?
3. To what degree are educational changes occurring from the top down or
the bottom up? How is the centre/locality issue in education perceived
and addressed by political leaders, ministry officials, commentators,
people’s committees, principals and private school operators? Are there
different educational trends in north, center and south, or in specific
provinces? In what ways have centre/locality relations in education
changed during the past two decades?
4. What sources of information and advice do families rely on when making
education decisions regarding their children? How much of their income do
they allocate to school fees, private tutoring, home computers, or living
costs away from home? Do parents and students feel this is money well
spent? Are their opinions being heard at policy levels?
5. Viewing schools as a factor in Vietnam’s labour market, what are the
opinions and decisions of employers when it comes to hiring workers,
office staff, or technicians? How do employers navigate the maze of
diplomas now issued by private as well as public institutions? Are
employers prepared to invest in further training?
6. Can it be said that educational achievement is fostering social
mobility in Vietnam, as many participants in the process clearly believe
or hope? How does one measure this change? What happens to people who
feel they are losing out? Are class distinctions increasing as the result
of changes in the educational system? Can comparisons or contrasts be
drawn with earlier eras?
7. How do educational authorities overcome the problems they have
identified in institutional quality and accountability? What are the
implications of government plans to abolish national university entrance
examinations in favor of institution-level selection procedures? Is Hanoi
prepared to give up the centuries-old tradition of state control of
examinations?
8. The government has stated a goal of turning out 20,000 PhDs by 2020.
What sort of detailed analysis and planning has gone into this program?
What is the work experience of MA and PhD diploma-holders recently
returned from overseas? What is being done to bring teaching and research
institutions in Vietnam closer together? Can Vietnam hope to place a
university in the top fifty or one hundred worldwide?
9. What is the track record of practical cooperation between Vietnamese
and foreign tertiary institutions? Which kinds of interaction are proving
most useful to students and researchers?
Interested writers are invited to submit paper proposals on the above
themes. We do not expect each paper to address all the sets of questions
noted above. We would like, however, each paper to take up issues from
more than one of these sets. Papers can approach the issues in different
ways; we expect variety in this regard. Interdisciplinary approaches are
encouraged Contributions should endeavor to put the discussion in
comparative perspective.
Proposal Submission
Contributors should send their proposals and a one page CV to Thai Duy Bao
by 17 May 2007. Email: bao.thai@anu.edu.au
Each proposal should be no longer than 600 words. The proposal should
outline how the paper relates to the issues highlighted in the above set
of questions and the kind of research the paper will be based on.
The conference organizers will then decide which proposals to accept. We
will then extend invitations to the authors of the selected proposals to
prepare and present their papers to the conference. The organizers also
reserve the right to solicit papers, if necessary, from individuals who
did not submit proposals.
Funding for travel and accommodation is available and details will be
discussed later with each paper presenter.
Paper Specifications
The paper itself should be submitted 30 days before the date of the
conference.
The paper should not exceed 10,000 words and it should include appropriate
bibliography and citations. Each paper should include an abstract of 200
words.
Presentation and Publication
We envisage about eight paper presentations during a one and a half day
workshop in Canberra on 29-30 November 2007.
At the Update each author will have approximately 40 minutes to summarize
what her/his paper argues and the evidence used. The conference will also
have to other presentations about recent political and economic
developments in Vietnam. The full text of the paper may be included,
subject to any necessary revisions to meet publication requirements, in a
refereed book that we hope will be published within a year after the
conference.
Conference Organizers
For further information, please contact any of the following organizers:
Convenor: Thai Duy Bao, Southeast Asia Centre, Faculty of Asian Studies,
The Australian National University. Email: bao.thai@anu.edu.au
Ashley Carruthers, School of Archaeology & Anthropology, Faculty of Arts.
Email: ashley.carruthers@anu.edu.au
Philip Taylor, Dept. of Anthropology, RSPAS, The Australian National
University. Email: philip.taylor@anu.edu.au
Li Tana, Division of Pacific & Asian History, RSPAS, The Australian
National University. Email: tana.li@anu.edu.au
Ben Kerkvliet, Dept. of Political & Social Change, RSPAS, The Australian
National University. Email: ben.kerkvliet@anu.edu.au
David Marr, Division of Pacific & Asian History, RSPAS, The Australian
National University. Email: dgm405@anu.edu.au
David Koh, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore. Email:
davidkoh@iseas.edu.sg
Russell Heng, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.
Email: russell@mail.iseas.edu.sg
--
Dr Philip Taylor
Fellow, Department of Anthropology
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
Australian National University
Canberra, ACT, 0200
Ph. 61-2-61252300
Email: philip.taylor@anu.edu.au
http://rspas.anu.edu.au/people/personal/taylp_ant.php